This blog is about all the crafty endeavors I indulge in! I need somehow to be able to talk about the newest knit pattern I found or the newest ideas I have had so a blog is ideal for this!! I also hope this helps me keep track of those crazy ideas I get in the middle of the night when my friend, Insomnia, visits.

Monday, April 11, 2011

I just found out that I could share out my pics from flickr onto my blog! Now maybe I am dumb and never realized it but all it takes is the click of a button! So beware! I will be posting a TON more pics onto my blog! Yay!!! The photos I posted of the Duck, Sheep, and Bunny are patterns from Amy Gaines' book "Little Knitted Creatures" which is my newest toy obsession manual. As I stated before in another post, my goal is to knit the entire book....out of the 26 patterns I have completed 5 (6 if you count that I knitted 2 sheep). Oh and I have a clownfish on the needles so sometime today I will have completed 6 (or 7-however you count it!)

Friday, April 8, 2011

I found a book at Joann's a few months ago that I fell in love with....Amy Gaine's "Little Knitted Creatures" this book had everything I love about knitting: cute, easy, fast projects-on straight needles!!! The book was a little pricey so I did not buy it but I did visit it several times and even looked at it on Amazon.com....which by the way surprised me because they gave you an inside look at the book including a free pattern!!! Recently, the book went on sale and thanks to my sister talking me into buying, I brought it home! There are 26 cute projects in the book and each one is well-written and easy!
So, I have challenged myself! I want to make all 26 of these adorable creatures-they range from gnomes and acorns to bunnies! So far I have made 4!!!!! And I just cast on my fifth!!! I do not think I have spent more than 2 days on one project....sooooo nice and easy!!! The kids in my family love them too!

Rainbow fish....made from recycled yarn

This little crab is made from Red Christmas yarn with tinsel throughout

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft – alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys. What items do you like to surround yourself with whilst you twirl your hook like a majorette’s baton or work those needles like a skilled set of samurai swords. Do you always have snacks to hand, or are you a strictly ‘no crumbs near my yarn!’ kind of knitter.

My typical crafting time....what does "typical" mean? LOL!! Really though I am a craft as much as possible--whereever I can or am--however I can-- person! Most days, I can be found on the loveseat in my living room with needles in hand, in front of the television, watching Sadie (22 month old great-niece) run around the living room. I am not a social crafter only because I am not much of a social person...I used to make jewelry with my friends but found myself helping them "fix" things instead of working on my own pieces. This is how I am....instead of focusing on my stuff, if I work with other people, I focus on everyone else and how I can help them....this can prove to be too distracting and it gets on my nerves!
My favorite place to knit is in my bedroom, on my bed, with the television on, and my dog. He is afraid of yarn BUT puts up with my addiction because he can curl up at my feet and cuddle. However, the yarn CANNOT touch him or get too close to him...he runs and cries. In everyday life he is a vicious, horrible, Min-Pin/Pom that scares everyone (but me) and does bite. Unless you are yarn...crazy but true. Anyway, I like to knit in on my bed. There is something comforting about having my pillows and blankets around me while I attack yarn with needles. The only downside is that it is my bed....sometimes I find pieces of yarn under my sheet or between my pillows. Also, when I am working on a project I do not sleep...most of the time I have to finish my project....this can be bad because I am on my bed but cannot sleep causing a love/hate relationship between me and my bed....
However, my dog loves when I knit on my bed because I think secretly it is his favorite place too...as long as the yarn stays on its side of the bed and he stays on his side....everything is okay....

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make bu can admire the result of those that have.

This prompt is an easy one to answer for me because I aspire to....well...everything! There are so many things I want to learn and accomplish that sometimes it is overwhelming. With knitting, I want to learn how to use circs, DPN's, cabling, intarsia, and how to knit from a chart...oh and I want to gain speed. To me, I am the world's slooooooowest knitter. I am envious of people who can crank out quality, beautiful, detailed, and intricate items when I labor to work through the smallest of items. OH AND LACE....lace seems sooooo detailed and tiny. Even thinking about knitting lace makes me feel clumsy and oafish, like my fingers are really sausages.
I also want to write a craft book. Not just a knitting book but a craft book...something with a little bit of everything in it....
I have so many hobbies that sometimes I wish that there were more hours in the day, more money in my pockets, more words to write down, and more people that were interested in what I said and did. Maybe one day....
In life, I want to use my education for something that will leave me in someone's mind so that one day I will not be forgotten. I want to "produce" something of a legacy....whether it is a book or an idea or a product...something....
SIGH....when I read this prompt I did not think it would make me feel so wistful....but it is....there are so many things to accomplish......

Friday, April 1, 2011

And now for something completely different! This is an experimental blogging day to try and push your creativity in blogging to the same level that you perhaps push your creativity in the items you create.